Carpet Stains
by Violaze
Summary: It was a beautiful day and after catching a case, Tony comes in late to work. However, the beauty of the day is abruptly shadowed by brown and red carpet stains.
1. Coffee

AN: This is my first story so I would appreciate reviews. Let me know what you think. I know that this chapter is short, but I'll have more up soon. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of NCIS. I'm just an enthusiast who enjoys writing.

"Oh, what a glorious day!"

"You won't think it's so beautiful when Gibbs gets back."

"That's what the coffee's for." Tony grinned as he said spoke. When he had gotten up that morning at 06:30, he found several missed calls on his phone from Gibbs and Ziva. After listening to the messages, Tony had quickly dressed, kissed Jo goodbye and driven straight to the office, with the exception of stopping to pick up coffee as a peace offering for his boss.

"Come now, Tony, do you honestly believe that a mere cup of coffee can appease the wrath of Gibbs?"

Tony put his hand over his mouth and quoted, "You don't know the _power_ of the Dark Side!" Ziva just looked at him and it was clear that she had no clue what the reference to Star Wars was supposed to imply. "Come on, Ziva. Black coffee? You know, black coffee is dark? _And,_" he added for emphasis, "coffee has more power over Gibbs than the director."

Ziva shook her head in frustration, "Oh, whatever, Tony. I just don't think that it will help; afterall, Gibbs already has a cup."

Tony squinted in mock concentration. "Hmm…this could be a problem." He turned back to the windows and smiled, "Nevertheless, he's always drinking coffee and it's been about thirty minutes since he called, so he's probably ready for a new cup."

"Well at least you're good for something around here," said Ziva sarcastically.

"You know me. Gibbs says I'm as loyal as a Saint Ber…" Tony abruptly stopped talking as he felt a burning pain in his right shoulder. The impact of the bullet spun him halfway round before he fell to the soft carpet. As his vision started to gray from the pain, Tony noticed that he was thinking, not about being shot, but about the coffee he had brought for Gibbs which was now spilled on the floor. _Crap! What am I gonna give him for a peace offering?_


	2. Noteworthy

**Hey all! Thank you so much for the favs, follows and especially the reviews! Sorry it's taken so long to update, but it's been an extremely busy week. I also had some struggles for how this chapter should go. As I mentioned before, this is my first story and am actually working on combining 3 story ideas. Hope you like this and please review! **

**A/N **Just so you don't get confused, this takes place the morning that Tony gets shot, but from Gibbs perspective. Not a character POV, but some background for the mystery.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing...nothing! Just a bit of stress relief.

It was 03:30 and the only sound coming from Gibbs' basement was the sander running along the frame of his boat. It had been a rough week with an equally difficult case and he was sorting through those difficulties with his best friends: the boat and a bottle of Jack. Despite the dangerous nature of the case, his team had come through unscathed and he had assumed that he would finally be getting some sleep. But shortly after going to bed, his gut had tied itself up in knots for no apparent reason. His people were fine. The case was closed and it was all over. _So why do I feel like something's not right?_ Deciding to go with his gut, Gibbs grabbed his car keys and headed out the door.

What he saw as he turned from locking the house shocked him and sent his gut into overdrive; the left front tire was slashed with the knife on the pavement and there was an envelope neatly tucked under the windshield wiper. After looking around, he cautiously approached the vehicle and picked up the knife and corner of the note with his fingertips. Taking them inside, he slipped on a pair of rubber gloves, opened the envelope, and saw written on the paper, "Never be too far from what you care about." Gibbs put the knife, envelope and note into a plastic bag and called Jenny.

"Jethro, do you realize what time it is?" came a weary voice over the phone.

"Yeah."

"And you knew I would answer. What's up, other than you, me and the moon."

"Tire was slashed on my car and a note on the windshield." There was a moment of silence as he waited for Jenny's response.

"Let me guess, your gut is telling you that we should investigate." It was a statement, not a question.

"What do you think?"

"I think I've known you long enough to trust your gut." Jenny sighed. "I can't sleep anyway. I'll get some coffee and meet you in my office."

"Sure you don't want to meet at your place?" Gibbs couldn't help saying it and he could practically hear Jenny smiling.

"My office. I'll see you soon."

Smiling, Gibbs hung up and called a cab.

…

The bullpen was quiet and the lights dim when Gibbs walked up to the Director's office; the only other people in the building were those on the night watch and the cleaning crew. As he entered her office, he was relieved to see that Cynthia was not there. Of course she wasn't, why should she be? It was just after 04:00 and the day shift wouldn't start coming in until at least 06:00.

Upon entering, Gibbs first noticed that Jenny wasn't sitting behind her desk, but was instead reclining on the sofa with two cups of coffee on the small table. Moving so that he could sit next to her, Jenny slid one of the cups closer to his anticipated location. "What've you got for me, Jethro."

After taking a sip from the cup, Gibbs reached into his coat and pulled out the bag containing the note. "This is the note from my car. Went out to come here and found my tire slashed and this stuck to the windshield."

"'Never be too far from what you care about.' Why so cryptic? Trying to keep you on your toes? Perhaps they're trying to intimidate you by showing that they know where you live and how to get to you."

Gibbs narrowed his eyes. "More than that; my door's unlocked most of the time anyway. I'll bet the placement of the note was deliberate. Whatever bastard put it there knows what I care about. Slashing the tire was to say that I couldn't get to them if I needed to."

"Them, Jethro?"

Gibbs stare hardened even more. "My _team_, Jen."

When she heard that, Jen couldn't help the switch from partner to director. "I hope you aren't letting your personal feelings get in the way here. If investigating this will distract you, I'll assign another team."

"I want my team on this, Jen. If my _family_ is being threatened I won't let anyone else try and _fail_ to protect them." With that, Gibbs stood and moved to the door. As he was leaving, he stopped and said over his shoulder, "And my personal feelings are none of your business. As I recall, you decided to not get involved in them."

The door closed and Jenny was alone in her office. She hated when Gibbs was right. _Damn! Why did I say that?_ After she had found out about Shannon and Kelly, she had tried to be more understanding of Gibbs need to personally protect the members of his team, but she screwed up. Forgotten that she had been his partner and most of all, had forgotten that family was more than blood. As she sat at her desk, she threw the unfinished coffee into the trash, but some of it splashed out and onto the carpet.

…

When Gibbs got to his desk, he debate whether or not to give the details, such as they were, to his team and finally decided that until he knew more, it would be better not to say much. Even so, he called the various members of his team, Ducky and Abby promised to be there as soon as possible, whereas Ziva had told him that she was already on the way due to an inability to sleep. Gibbs allowed himself a brief smile as he thought of the fine investigator that the Mossad officer was becoming. McGee was playing Call of Duty and had reluctantly left his teammates mid-game so as not to piss him off. When he called Tony, Gibbs was miffed that it went directly to voicemail, but left a message saying that they had a case. After waiting for a few minutes, he tried to call again with the same result and ended up calling four more times. He called Ziva and told her to try and get ahold of him, but she too had no luck. Gibbs sat back in his desk chair and resolved to give DiNozzo the head-slap of his life along with a brief and pointed lecture about breaking Rule #3. After looking at his watch and seeing that it was close to 06:00, he decided to head down to Abby's lab so that he could give her the note and envelope as soon as she arrived.

…

It was 07:38 when Gibbs decided that it was time to call DiNozzo again. Abby was running a fingerprint analysis on the note as well as any information about the knife and after getting his second cup of coffee, Gibbs had returned to the bullpen to go over the details of the case with Ziva and McGee.

"It seems that our man wants to be caught." McGee said.

"Or he is an amateur. Although in Mossad, such sloppiness was not tolerated."

"He wasn't being sloppy." Gibbs interjected. "The note had only one print as did the knife. He's leaving bread crumbs."

Dialing the number for Tony's cell, he waited for voicemail at the other end, but he was pleasantly surprised when he heard Tony's unrecorded voice.

"Hey, Boss. Sorry about the missed calls, I'm just leaving now. I had plans last night and after watching this great movie we…"

"Don't apologize…"

"Sign of weakness. Gotcha, Boss."

Gibbs turned his back to the rest of the team and smiled. "I'm going for coffee and you'd better be here by the time I get back or I'll have you on desk duty for a month."

"On it, Boss."

He hung up the phone and turned back to his desk and McGee spoke first. "Umm, boss? You already have coffee."

"Your point, McGee?"

"Well, umm, you told Tony that, uhh…"

"Spit it out, Probie."

"What he means is," Ziva interjected, "why did you tell Tony that he needed to be here before you got back when it does not appear as though you need to go anywhere?"

"I didn't say when I was going to get coffee, did I?"

The other two agents smiled at each other. Obviously, Gibbs was going to let DiNozzo squirm as he hurriedly tried to make up for lost time and diffuse his boss's temper. It felt just like any other day save for the persistent feeling in his gut and he tried to focus on a cold case until Abby got her results. He was just about to visit her when Larry came through with the mail and set an envelope on Gibbs' desk. When he saw it, Gibbs scowled and put on a pair of gloves. As he read to himself, the feeling in his gut tripled. "Family is important Agent Gibbs. Because of you, mine is dead. Allow me to return the favor."

No sooner had he finished reading than he was heading upstairs with coffee in one hand and the note in another. "McGee! Get down to Abby's lab and see if she's found anything yet."

Walking straight past Cynthia and ignoring her protests, Gibbs entered the office. He was still pissed about Jenny's apparent lack of faith in him and his team, but decided it would be better to keep her in the loop. She had come down to the office at his request after all. "We've got another one," he said, tossing the note onto the desk.

"So I see. Have you found anything from the first note yet?"

"Abby's running the fingerprint now and finding out the details of the knife."

"Good." The director stood and straightened her suit jacket. "Jethro, what I said earlier was insensitive. You've never given me reason to doubt you in the past. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize."

"Right." Smiling now, Jenny walked over to the sofa and gestured for him to sit. "So, how can I help?"

"I hate to admit it, but I'm worried about what this guy is planning. I can't shake this feeling in my gut. I just want to put him in prison or autopsy before he can hurt any of my people." He suddenly felt the cell phone vibrator going off in his pocket and picking up it up said, "Gibbs."

"Boss, we've got information on the suspect in Abby's lab." At this point, Gibbs could hear indistinct bickering going on in the background. "She's insisting that I not say anything more, but that you come down as soon as possible."

"Good work. We'll be right down."

Jenny turned slightly to look at Gibbs as he pocketed the phone. "We?"

"You wanna help or not?"

As the two reached the top of the stairs, they could hear Tony and Ziva teasing each other. Gibbs was relieved that the day was starting to seem more normal as it went on, but his relief was short lived. He was about to call out to DiNozzo about finally making an appearance when he heard the sound of breaking glass and watched as Tony fell to the floor. Worse still was seeing the coffee, obviously brought for Gibbs, as it began to mix with the blood pouring from his agent's shoulder. In an instant he had dropped his own beverage and rushed down the stairs, his only concern to get Tony away from the window.

**Thanks for reading. Please review!**


	3. Control

**AN: I'm sorry it's been so long since the last update, but I've experienced a tad of writer's block. I also started the new school year which has made things even more hectic than usual. I hereby present this chapter as a peace offering and promise that more will follow soon. Thank you for all the reviews and questions; they make this story better!**

_As the two reached the top of the stairs, they could hear Tony and Ziva teasing each other. Gibbs was relieved that the day was starting to seem more normal as it went on, but his relief was short lived. He was about to call out to DiNozzo about finally making an appearance when he heard the sound of breaking glass and watched as Tony fell to the floor. Worse still was seeing the coffee, obviously brought for Gibbs, as it began to mix with the blood pouring from his agent's shoulder. In an instant he had dropped his own beverage and rushed down the stairs, his only concern to get Tony away from the window._

As Gibbs moved down the stairs he suddenly realized how foolish he was being. The shot had come from the window and if the sniper was still in position, he could take another shot at his people or even himself while on the stairs; there was no way to get to DiNozzo without risking exposure. After sharing a look with Ziva, he realized that she knew it too. Allowing his training as a Marine to take over, Gibbs cautiously stepped over the side of the stair railing and lowered himself to the floor. Crouching as he made his way to the wall adjacent the windows, he looked to his fallen agent. Tony's face was a mask of pain as he stared back at his boss.

"Easy, Tony. I'm coming."

"No worries, Boss. I'm not going anywhere." He tried to smile, but it quickly faded into a grimace as another flash of pain shot through his shoulder.

_Damn! I need to get to him._ Gibbs began to weigh his options; he could just run over to Tony and pull him away from the window. However, there was still a risk that the shooter was still watching and if he was, Gibbs could also be shot. Gibbs looked around and spotted a phone book. Grabbing it and rushing back to his former position, he held it up in front of the window and watched as a bullet tore through the pages and embedded itself in the staircase. _So he is still watching._

Just as he was preparing to throw it all to hell and rush over, his cell started to vibrate in his pocket. Taking out the phone he glanced at the display, but didn't recognize the number. "Gibbs."

"I wouldn't chance it Agent Gibbs."

"What the hell are talking about?"

"Your agent is down. You, _Agent Gibbs_ were just deciding whether or not to risk going over to him or to stand helplessly by and watch him bleed out."

While Gibbs had assumed he was speaking with the sniper, the man's last words had turned his stomach. "You _bastard_."

"Now, now let's not be so rude. I understand that this must be frustrating for you; your team being attacked on your own turf. Especially after so difficult an investigation."

"What are you talking about? Who are you?" Gibbs was indeed becoming frustrated. Had this guy been watching his team? Stalking them?

"No names for now; wouldn't want to spoil your forensic scientist's fun of revealing my identity. For now, I just want you to know _exactly_ who is in control here." There was brief pause in which Gibbs looked to Ziva to check on the phone trace. She held up one finger to signify that she only needed another minute. "I'll allow you to go to your agent now, but you should know that I have placed bombs on certain doors and elevators throughout the building."

"You're bluffing."

"Please, feel free to test that hypothesis, but any further injuries will be on your head, not mine. You may also want to consider getting over to your agent; he doesn't look well at all."

Gibbs' anger was starting to grow. "Why are you doing this?!"

"Agent Gibbs, you can't possibly expect me to give you all the details now? That would make it too easy, wouldn't it?" His tone suddenly changed from being soft and cold to menacing. "That's not good enough. I want you to watch your _agent_ bleed out in your arms and know that there's _nothing_ you can do about it."

Gibbs face paled considerably at these words and was about to reply when the line went dead. He looked at Ziva who shook her head in disappointment. Deciding not to waste any more time, he rushed over to Tony and gently pulled him away from the window.

**Thanks for reading! Please review!**


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